DMSRetail

At this time of year, many of your Head Office personnel will probably be taking a few extra days off to celebrate the holidays.  And, almost certainly, many retail Head Offices will close at noon on December 24^th and December 31^st.

Before communicating office hours, helpdesk/ line availability, who will be out of the office when, etc. be sure you read it over from the store employees’ point of view.  Working long hours over the holidays is a part of the job, but most store management and staff would like to spend more time with their family and friends, just as others do. So choose the words carefully.

Instead of this…

Attention all Store Manager’s and Staff:  Due to the Holidays, Head Office will be closed at noon on December 24 and will re-open on December 28. If you require assistance during that time, contact your District Manager. The Help Desk will be closed also. In case of an emergency with your POS system, contact the supplier’s help line directly – you have their phone number in your POS manual. For everything else, contact your District Manager.

Perhaps something like this…

Happy Holidays, Everyone:  To make sure that you are properly supported over the holiday period, we have compiled a list of contact numbers for you to use in the event of an emergency or if you are dealing with a time sensitive issue and cannot reach your District Manager. Normal store support will resume on December 28, 2011.

Whatever you decide to do, or say, your retail stores need support. If they are open for business, they need to have reliable people available to assist them if, and when, it becomes necessary.

All the Success!!

No longer is January a dead month for retailers. More and more, customers are visiting stores in January for the great clearance sales. They don’t necessarily want to brave the crowds on the day after Christmas, or even the week after Christmas. Many of them are waiting well into January to use their gift cards and exchange gifts. Will you be ready?

Tips for a successful January:

Make the store as inviting as you did leading up to Christmas. Visual standards should always remain high, even though your merchandise selection may be less than what it usually is. Do the very best you can with what you’ve got to work with.

When producing your schedules for January, it is critical that you look at the whole picture – net sales alone do not tell the story. For example, if your sales for a day are $10,000 – it could be that your customers purchased $20,000 worth of merchandise but, because of returns, your net sales ended at $10,000. If you schedule to make $10,000, you will be badly understaffed and you will not do the business you could have done if you had more people on the floor. Look at last year’s sales and return figures, then do the math and prepare for a great January. Don’t understaff your store in January.

If you are starting ‘spring’ cleaning or preparing for a physical inventory count, schedule very carefully to ensure that you are still going all out for sales rather than just focusing on accomplishing these large tasks.

Ensure that any returned merchandise is quickly checked, re-ticketed if necessary and placed back out on the sales floor. Don’t leave returns piled in the backroom, even for a short period of time, if they are saleable.

Let any temporary employees know what the future holds for them. If you were impressed with a temporary worker and you want to keep them on staff, tell them what your intentions are. This will motivate them; giving them good reason to continue doing a great job for you.

Don’t put any merchandise on display, in windows or throughout the store, if you don’t have back up product. There is no point in enticing a customer with something you cannot supply. Most retailers place clearance banners in their windows, and throughout their stores, in January. Usually, their selection is not sufficient to promote anything in particular.

Rally the staff! You know that your people are tired, having just come through the incredibly hectic season, but this is no time to let down your standards for performance. Let staff know how important the month of January is to the store’s overall success.

All the Success!

Retail employees, like any others, should always behave in a professional manner. Because retail employees work together in the stores and not hidden away in offices, this can sometimes be difficult if your employees are talkative. It’s a real problem if they are talkative and unhappy. A recent visit to a grocery store prompted me to send out this reminder. 

I needed something that was not out on the floor. I knew, from previous experience, that the item was often stocked in the freezers behind the counter. I approached a woman who appeared to be working in the area and I learned the following:

The store was short staffed because someone called in sick. The employee I was talking to was tired and overworked; having to fill in for people who didn’t show up for work. She did not usually work in the meat department and it was stopping her from getting her own ‘work’ done in the bakery department. And, finally, she told me that the item I was asking for was probably not available; she didn’t have time to check; I should just come in tomorrow and talk to someone who really works in this department. There was nothing she could do, she just couldn’t spend the time!

Yes, she actually said all these things. Unfortunately, these are not isolated incidents. We really need to train on professional behavior, as well as other skills, if we expect to maintain our reputation.

Here’s a quick retail math quiz for you. Test your knowledge of commonly used formulas in retail math.

Fill in the blanks…….

1. Gross Margin % = Gross Margin ___________ divided by net ____________
2. Stock to Sales Ratio = __________ of month $ stock divided by _________ for period
3. Wage Cost = _____________ divided by net sales
4. Net _______________________= net sales divided by total FTE employees
5. Return (or refund) Rate = Total Refund $ divided by _________________

Sometimes things get lost in translation, don’t they? Many sales associates, even those who have been properly trained to determine needs and then present appropriate options to the customer, will mention options rather than presenting them.

There is a big difference.

If the sales associate actually presents the merchandise to the customer, either by bringing the merchandise to the customer or taking the customer to the merchandise, then the merchandise can be touched and discussed, questions can be asked and answered, objections can be raised and overcome. When the merchandise is simply mentioned, there is a huge lost opportunity for the customer to connect their need with the item(s) mentioned and for the sales associate to use their product knowledge and skills. Just mentioning an option is seldom effective.

It’s important that sales associates present the merchandise to the customer and then seize that opportunity to sell it.

All the Success!

DMSRetail Team

PS: The District Management Workshop is scheduled for Phoenix, AZ on January 26 & 27, 2011. For more information, go here: http://www.dmsretail.com/districtworkshop.htm

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DMSRetail Inc. has announced their schedule of retail management training courses for the first half of 2011. Here are just the dates and locations of the retail management training courses for Area Managers, District Managers and Region Managers being held in North America in the first half:

January 26 & 27 – The Retail District Management Workshop – Phoenix, AZ

April 11 & 12 – The Retail District Management Workshop – New York, NY

More details about this retail management training course can be found at: http://www.dmsretail.com/districtworkshop.htm

Other retail management training courses will be offered in North America during the first half of 2011. They can be found at www.dmsretail.com

There is so much that can be done to increase KPI’s in retail stores provided you don’t spend all your time complaining about a poor economy, or lack of traffic or employee turnover, etc.

You have to take action on the things you can control to some extent. And what are those things? Conversion, Average Sale, Units Per Transaction, and there are more. The key is to focus on what needs to be done.

First of all look at the calculations for these KPI’s. You can refer to a retail math book if you’re not sure of how some of them are calculated. DMSRetail offers Retail Math – Made Simple and it will walk you through everything you need to know about KPI’s, common math formulas, pretty much everything you need to know about retail math for retail store staff.

Once you know how to calculate the numbers, go ahead and do it and compare your results against benchmarks.  One thing you can do to increase KPI’s is to follow this rule. Keep it in mind at all times.

Sell more items to more customers more often, and preferrably at regular prices.

Of course nothing is that easy but following this rule is a great starting point. Let us know how it works for you.

All the Success!

DMSRetail

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What are your plans for keeping everyone sane this holiday season?

This is the time of year when many retail people might get a little testy. They are doing everything – and then some – and sometimes they just want to throw up their hands and leave! Of course, they don’t really want to leave but they may get frustrated. Face it, life is pretty interesting in retail stores in December. Try to make sure everyone has some fun.

Here are some things you can do to help:

• Arrange a pot luck lunch for the busiest days. Have everyone bring something to contribute, supply paper plates and cutlery and let everyone have a relaxing lunch in the backroom so they don’t have to fight the food court wars.
• Put a motivational note or card in their backroom mailbox just to remind them that someone appreciates their efforts.
• Bring treats for staff to munch on during their breaks.
• Run a contest where the winner gets to go home a little early without cleaning and closing up the store. If you run a contest like this every day, the other staff will happily pick up the slack because they know they could be the lucky winner the next day.
• And don’t forget the pat on the back for a job well done. Thank your people sincerely.

All the Success!

DMSRetail

PS: The Retail District Management Workshop will be held in Phoenix, Arizona on January 26 & 27, 2011. Go here for more information: http://www.dmsretail.com/districtworkshop.htm

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